#cragnons

[joshithekitsune]

⚠️WARNING GORE⚠️

I was watching the Indiana Jones movies and my lil baby brain came up with this. I'm now hyperfixated on them.

[superbellsubways]

he wants to be an imac icon so bad bruh

[legobiwan]

Don't ask me about my day, only ask me about my SMB/SPM fanfics...

~~~~~~~~

Bowser tilts his head. “Your brother? You mean Greenie? What, he’s good with machines or something?”

Mario laughs. It’s absurd, given the amount of time they’ve spent together, that the topic never came up. He’s almost reticent to share the information with the Koopa King, wary Bowser might take the intel back with him after all was said and done, somehow find a way to exploit this tidbit for personal gain.

Two weeks ago, it would have been a legitimate concern. But now, the chances of them living through this adventure seem to be dwindling with each passing hour, the line between enemy and friend, once so clear in Mario’s mind, blurring to the point of non-existence. 

“Yeah, something like that,” Mario says. “He was going to be a mechanical engineer before we landed in the Mushroom Kingdom. Was always tinkering with some machine or vehicle when we were young.” God, Luigi had gotten into so much trouble the day he popped open the hood of their father’s repair van. 

“Huh,” Bowser crosses his arms, contemplating this new information. A moment later, he does a double-take, jaw hanging slightly open with whatever epiphany he’s just reached. “Wait, you mean into mechanics like that asshole we fought in the Whoa Zone?” Bowser takes his chin in his hand. “I thought he looked familiar.”

[paperpeachy]

your heart is cragged brah

[darkclouud9]

I love making symbols so I decided to make a bunch for each area of Super Paper Mario bc no matter what it won't get out of my head.

Flipside and Flopside's symbols are partially based on Tippi and Undertale's deltarune (mainly about the angel part, and Tippi's the angel.)

Lineland is based on the trees there (even though most of what we explore there is desert)

Gloam Valley is based on Merlee's Mansion. kind of.

Bitlands doesn't really have any reference. this one may change later. not proud but I don't really have anything I want to make for it. maybe something to do with Fort Francis

Outer Space is kind of based on Fleep (the shape of the exterior) but mostly on Squirpina (crown and star shape. notice the very top of the image.)

oh wow I wonder what the Land of Cragnons is based on. (Primordial Fruit.)

Sammer's Kingdom has no reference either. it was meant to be based on any kind of weapon, but it ended up being claws, and then I wanted to add a crown because of Merlumina's sister being Sammer's wife or whatever but King Sammer is literally just a crown- there was no thought process okay

Underwhere and Overthere are both from chapter 7 and they both have their significance.

the exterior of the Underwhere was just. poison cloud (<- thought process anyway). and the inside is the fountain right at the beginning. (it heals all your health back up)

the Overthere is clouds bc its literally in the clouds and the rainbow is the bridge that leads to Grambi. the hearts in both symbols represent Luvbi, though the Overthere's second heart more represents the Pure Heart.

Castle Bleck... wow I wonder. more Tippi-Angel idea, hat shape is Count Bleck's hat. double heart is the Chaos Heart.

Trials? no real thought besides oooo fancy!! final challenge. multitude of hearts could represent the murals in the background of both the Flipside and Flipside Pits of 100 Trials.

Fracktail mural ^ though there are more than that. notice he is holding a Pure Heart.

[waterbottle2006]

so is no one else going to acknowledge that mrl feels like a fever dream we all experienced at once and now long to see that said fever dream again so that he can continue to ramble to us about his dumb machines and then tripping on his own shoelaces.

[illdothehotvoice]

Maybe my dislike for the Super Mario World cartoon is stemmed from my Cragnon trauma lmfao dshjgkfdh

[april-doodles]

dnd OC and his family doodle dump

(Height Chart, Grandpa/Grandson bonding, Flint in sweaters, and an “Everybody Loves Raymond” screencap redraw hehdhsg)

[warriorfujoshi]

you hook cragnons up...

[loki-valeska]

Something interesting I noticed about Count Bleck's writing

Other people have probably pointed this out, but I want to talk about it. Throughout SPM, the Count's minions show some level of fear over disappointing/offending him. O'Chunks is a big indicator of that, going so far as to ask for death when defeated in the Land of the Cragnons.

Similarly O'Chunks yells at Mimi for shapeshifting as him, saying it was "disrespectful", implying the Count would be mad at this.

But he's not.

He doesn't care, in fact he seems to find it amusing.

After Sammer's Kingdom, Nastasia informs Count Bleck about Mr. L's insubordination, she seems worried about his reaction. She's very quick to apologize and take full blame for it.

But he's not bothered at all. He simply brushes it off.

Even when Nastasia tells him about Mimi's insubordination, she seems more somber about it. Almost like she's expecting that this'll make him very upset and she's accepting it.

But even that doesn't bother him. He leaves the punishments to her, like he always does.

This seems to actively scare or worry Nastasia. Pointing out that something is different about him.

Now in the post Sammer cutscene we can infer that his behaviors is because he's doubting whether or not Tippi is indeed Timpani, and thus causing his goals to shift.

But in all the cutscenes before this, Count Bleck displays a similar level of disinterest in his minions failing. Nastasia is in charge of punishment, and the Count himself doesn't usually appear in those cutscenes until later irrc.

I bring these points up because I think it's a very clever way of portraying something we don't realize until we have hindsight.

Count Bleck in SPM is severely depressed by the loss of his love, Timpani. So while this drives him to want to end his own life, and end to worlds that took her from him by fulfilling the prophecy of the Dark Prognosticus; ultimately he doesn't care. He doesn't care about the universe, or love, or even his own minions failing him. He can't be bothered to care anymore. He doesn't even really care that the heroes are getting closer and closer to him. Nastasia even mentions how the Count used to love life and the universe, until he lost Timpani.

Now, he doesn't care.

I think it's a really clever way of writing depression, because that's exactly how it can feel. Not really caring about the things going on around you, even when they're directly interfering with you. Or how depression can make you feel nothing for things you used to cherish and love dearly.

Not caring about life, or death, or anything in between.

Maybe I'm looking too far into it, but I think it speaks to the masterclass of writing that is the SPM story. And I think it's a really cool detail about Count Bleck's character.

[celestialpaperhaze]

Now that more people have played TTYD, I wanted to compare and contrast a few things between that game and Super Paper Mario. In particular, this post will focus on...

PARTNERS AND SIDE CHARACTERS!

The Thousand-Year Door really shines with its partners and side characters, in part because every chapter allows one of these side characters to be a protagonist. This also ties into the "each chapter has its own subplot" idea that SPM lacks, at least in the beginning.

! SPOILERS FOR THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR !

(and minor spoilers for Super Paper Mario)

Chapter 1 allows Koops to have a mini-arc where he’s avenging his father. Even though his father turns out to be alive, this adventure to defeat Hooktail marks an important development in his character that leads him to continue traveling with Mario. In SPM, while the first chapter does drop a few key pieces of information on the Ancients, there's not really a clear subplot or side character to follow.

Chapter 2 starts out with Punio and his desire to rescue his sister, and branches out (heheh) into the Punies trying to defend their home. Meanwhile in SPM, there's a bit of a sub-plot with Mimi and Merlee that places them both in the spotlight, but that's mostly it. If the chapter had given a little more attention to the other prisoners of Mimi's debt scheme, then maybe it could've come close to establishing the environment in the same manner as TTYD.

Chapter 3 kind of puts the entire cast of the Glitz Pit in the limelight, since you don’t really know who’s who until nearing the end. I can’t really argue that it makes Jolene the protagonist because that reveal comes only once the chapter ends--but after you realize Jolene's role in the mystery of the Glitz Pit, it becomes clear that she is a key protagonist in chapter 3, and the revival of Prince Mush serves as the completion of her arc. Again, chapter 3 of SPM could've pulled this off by giving characters like Carrie some more involvement in defeating Francis; after all, she was a victim of his weirdness too, right?

After playing the first three chapters of TTYD, you begin to feel more invested in the plot of the game. However, the first three chapters of SPM are weaker in terms of establishing interest, which is largely why many people who first played the game didn't stick with it past this point. However, around chapter four, the tides begin to turn!

Chapter 4 of TTYD follows the people of Twilight Town, as you are immediately introduced to the plight of their pig curse. However, after the first battle with Doopliss, the chapter places Vivian in the spotlight. Vivian becomes the protagonist in this chapter as she finally learns to overcome her fear of her sisters and fight for what she believes in. Chapter 4 of SPM actually has Squirps as a side-protagonist, so it comes pretty close to matching TTYD's pattern here.

Chapter 5 puts Flavio in the spotlight. He is...quite the personality! He's a flamboyant, arrogant coward who's given a Brave Moment during the climax of the chapter. In SPM, we have the conflict of the Cragnons and Floro Sapiens in the forefront of the chapter, which helps better establish the world of chapter 5.

Chapter 6, being all about solving mysteries, puts your partnership with Pennington in the spotlight, thus making The Penguin With the Improbably Large Brain a protagonist of the chapter. In SPM, chapter 6 focuses on the Sammer Guys as their world is on the verge of erasure.

Chapter 7 puts the main plot of the Thousand-Year Door back in focus, so there's not much of a sub-plot. However, you could still argue that TEC is made into a protagonist for this chapter, given his act of sacrifice at the end. And of course, Super Paper Mario has Luvbi as a protagonist, and her arc with Jaydes and Grambi as a sub-plot of sorts.

In chapter 8 for both games, all the strings tie together and the focus is placed primarily on the climax and conclusion of the main plot! For SPM, this includes focuses on each villain in turn (O'Chunks, then Mimi, then Dimentio, then Count Bleck and, to a lesser extent, Nastasia).

Because TTYD's writing allows you to be close with all of the partners and side characters you meet, parting with them at the end feels like a real goodbye. Even though you know you can just reload your save file, you still have the sense that you'll miss these people and this world you've gotten to know so well.

Despite all my love for the game, I do have mixed feelings on how effectively SPM pulls this off. I think they definitely give enough attention to the game's main cast to make the players curious about them after completing the main story, but I don't feel that this sense carries over to all of the side characters and worlds from throughout the game. I'm still fond of the characters in Super Paper Mario, of course, but it's not in the same "I feel I experienced something with them" kind of way that the Thousand-Year Door does so well.

TL;DR - Each chapter in The Thousand-Year Door gives some side character a chance to serve as that chapter’s protagonist, which helps better establish the characters and worlds in that game. However, Super Paper Mario does not do this to the same extent, especially in the earlier chapters, which I believe is part of the reason many people found SPM less engaging than TTYD when it first released.

[istadris]

So I read your post about Mario unwittingly becoming the Mushroom King going around, and something humorously endearing about it is how Mario has already made direct close personal relationships with a variety of the world's royalty through his adventuring alone. Princess Daisy, the Kongs, the Penguin King, Queen Bean and Prince Peasley, King and Queen Nimbus and Prince Mallow, Lady Bow, Prince Dreambert, Prince Florian, King Fret and Prince Pine. Heck, if we count any relations with any from other worlds as potentially ongoing, there's the likes of the mother of Lumas Rosalina, the Honey Queen, Prince Squirps, the Sammer King, possibly King Croacus IV once the Cragnons stopped polluting his water. Even the king and queen of the afterlife, Grambi and Jaydes, and their daughter, Princess Luvbi!

[Referring to this post ]

Mario : Peachy, I can't do this King job ! I don't know about about politics and ruling, I'd make the Mushroom Kingdom look like a joke :(

Peach, who gets asked about Mario's health by half of her fellows kings/queens at every diplomatic meeting, and is given a wide berth by the other half in fear of Mario's wrath if they ever offend or threaten her : you are so sweet, dear, but you don't have any reason to worry about that part :)

Mario doesn't realize that by running around and saving half of the countries of the world, he's got several kingdoms in his debt, without counting all the people who find him genuinely endearing.

(Luigi takes care of the remaining people who don't care that much about Mario)

Of course Peach would love Mario regardless of his popularity, and this aspect of his personality was never taken in account for why she fell in love with him, but you can't deny she knows how to pick them by marrying such a big political asset.

[smallmariofindings]

In Super Paper Mario, it is revealed near the end of Chapter 5-4 that King Croacus, the antagonist of that chapter, was conducting his actions as revenge against the Cragnons, who were polluting his water supply.

It is easily missed in-game that the river the Cragnons were polluting can actually be seen in Chapter 5-1, particularly because it is very narrow and completely covered by a bridge in 2D view, and the water can only be entered in 3D view.

Top: how the polluted water appears from the beginning until the end of Chapter 5. Bottom: how the clear water appears after the Cragnons no longer decide to pollute it after completing Chapter 5.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source: SPM (NA, Wii)

[pixies-and-poets]

Wanted to send you this earlier, but I fell asleep, lol.

On the topic of Super Paper Mario, I think I saw the analysis you mentioned too, but I can't find it either...

I really love how the music in this game does more so than being an atmospheric background, like the clocks telling you to hurry up in Castle Bleck and suggesting you that the memories you're reading at the end of the chapters happened in the past. Or how simple yet explanatory it is that "Bounding Through Time" has a more mellow version of Bleck's theme in it.

I love this game, it really deserved more.

This is fantastic timing, because I just asked about the same thing on Twitter and someone found it for me!

This is a really great video, definitely deserves more views. Also made me remember when my blog name was welcome-to-flopside, lol

I have passionate opinions and theories and defenses about SPM in general, about how even its "inexplicable" gag parts that everyone thinks were the devs just trolling, actually serve a purpose. The parts where you have to slave away for Mimi, or run back and forth in the Gap of Crag putting in an absurd block-based password, or fight the Sammer Guys, etc.... all emphasize people making you WASTE TIME in a situation where time is of the essence. In some situations, it proves how the villains (well... really just Mimi) are effective at getting the heroes to waste time, which is honestly a better purpose than outright fighting them since the Void is growing on its own. In others it shows how the people of the universe might try to look the other way and not acknowledge the disaster about to strike (this makes absolute sense for the cragnons especially, since they were already causing environmental destruction and ignoring it).

Even if not everyone sees it this way, I seriously think almost every part of this game, from the music to the jokes, fit together to tell its story. That's why it's one of my favorite games of all time.

[lucyav13]

Levels

Below we will analyze each of the worlds and some facts about 'em. Let's start!

Linealand Road

Lineland's Chapter 1-1 is a homage to the original Super Mario Bros. with its level design, which resembled the classic World 1-1 through its positioning of items, ? Blocks, and enemies like Goombas. The music is also remixed from the Super Mario Bros. overworld theme and the Super Mario World overworld theme. 

Its skies are full of strange, surreal mathematical formulas, such as (translated into literary form) "Fire Flower is greater than or equal to some kind of Block  divided by warp pipe". (As can be seen in the image)

Gloam Valley and Merlee's Mansion

The music of Merlee's Mansion has several interludes full of altered versions of Mimi's theme, however, the theme of Merlee herself is never heard throughout the entirety of Chapter 2.

The password 5963 can be read as 「ご苦労さま」 in Japanese, which means "You've been working very hard". Similarly, 41262816 can be read as「良い風呂に入る」, which means "Take a good bath"

The Bitlands

The Bitlands is a dimension located beyond Flipside Tower's yellow door in Super Paper Mario. It has a unique art style that makes the world look as if it was drawn on a grid, like pixel art. The overworld music in this world is an arrangement of the classic Ground Theme from Super Mario Bros. According to The InterNed, said overworld theme is titled "The Open Plane", while the music in the underground area beneath the two red pipes is titled "Nostalgic Underground", due to it being an arrangement of the Underground Theme from Super Mario Bros.

There is also a reference to the original Mario Bros in chapter 3-1

The Bitlands is also one of only two worlds where there is at least one boss in each section (Bowser in 3-1, who joins Mario's party after being defeated, Big Blooper in 3-2, Dimentio in 3-3, and Francis in 3-4), with Castle Bleck being the other world where this is the case.

Furthermore, including the optional Pixls, Barry and Tiptron, the player gets four Pixls in The Bitlands, which is more than in any other world in Super Paper Mario.

On the fortress that requires blowing up on a red X, there are some enemies that aren't normally attackable due to the fortress being too tall to jump on. These enemies don't require items to defeat though, as one can use Thoreau to grab the Bullet Bill Blaster's Bullet Bills and throw them back. One can also use Dashell, if obtained before Chapter 3, to jump off the fortress before it and use Princess Peach's Parasol to get on the fortress. This allows access to the other side of it that is normally otherwise inaccessible, and the ? Block that is normally destroyed with it can be hit (it gives a single coin).

This chapter is one of the ones with the most references, I will put all of these in a future part :)

Outer Space

Chapter 4 may not take place in the outer space above the , but rather that of another dimension. It was once the location of the kingdom. 

If on the second visit to the level the player answers "no" to the prompt to use the space helmet, Tippi will personally attempt to convince them otherwise. After that, if the player says "yes" thrice, she will abandon the player in frustration, resulting in a Game Over. Upon further visits, the helmet is equipped automatically once they pass through the door. (If you want me to write all the absurd Game Overs, leave it to me in the comments)

Land of the Cragnons

It is the home of the Cragnons, a prehistoric race of primitive people with televisions and stereo CD players seemingly made of rocks. It is also home to the enemies of the Cragnons, the Floro Sapiens, who live underground with their king, who is the boss of Chapter 5.

The setting of this Chapter is similar to Chapter 5's in the original Paper Mario. In both Chapters, Mario must venture into a mountainous area (in Paper Mario, it was Mt. Lavalava, and here, it was the Gap of Crag), they both featured a comically-incompetent adventurer accompanying him during the Chapter (in Paper Mario, it was Kolorado, while in Super Paper Mario, it was Flint Cragley), and both had a plant boss (in Paper Mario, it was Lava Piranha, while in Super Paper Mario, it was King Croacus IV). Mario also gets a kind of hammer in both areas (in Paper Mario, it was an Ultra Hammer, while in Super Paper Mario, he gets a hammer-like Pixl named Cudge.)

Near the end of the game, during the final battle with Super Dimentio, the Land of the Cragnons is destroyed by The Void, but is restored following the destruction of the Chaos Heart along with all other demolished dimensions.

Sammer's Kingdom

It is destroyed by The Void in the main story, leaving nothing but an empty white space, but is restored after the story's end.

This land is ruled by King Sammer. It is most notable for being the location of the Duel of 100 tournament, in which challengers face off against 100 Sammer Guys. Only the first 25 Sammer Guys are faced in Chapter 6-1, while the rest are encountered in the three other chapters. However, in the main story, only the first 20 Sammer Guys are battled, and only 30 Sammer Guys are encountered.

In addition to the Duel of 100, Tippi and Tiptron's Tattles mention various other events held in the Sammer's Kingdom, such as the Sammer Guy Break Hour, the annual Sammer Guy BBQ, the Sammy Awards, and the annual Sammer Quiz; however, Mario and friends are unable to attend any of these in person.

The kingdom appears to be based on Japan, with "Sammer Guy" being a pun on "samurai".

According to Garson of the Flipside bar, The Underwhere, 1,500 years prior to the events of Super Paper Mario, the younger sister of Merlumina was entrusted with a Pure Heart, to give to the Sammer Kingdom's ruler to protect. Upon meeting however, Merlumina's sister and the Sammer King fell in love and she stayed behind. The two eventually married and had 100 children. Ever since, the number 100 has been sacred to the Sammer Kingdom.

After finishing the game, the gang may start the Duel of 100 over. As before, Chapter 6-1 has Rounds 1-25. After defeating Sunshine Flood, Mario and co. will be able to continue on to 6-2.

If the player returns to Sammer's Kingdom after finishing the Duel of 100, King Sammer will be found on Gate 1. He will say the Age of the Sammer Guys ended and that he sent the Sammer Guys on a tropical vacation. He also jokes that he will replace them with kitty robots. When Tiptron uses Tattle on him, she reveals he is planning to turn the Duel of 100 Battle Gates into a water amusement park.

During the battle, as the players advance to the next sub-chapter, the number of flags seen on the stage will increase by one (i.e. one flag on every stage of Chapter 6-1, two in Chapter 6-2, and so on).

When the player tries to go to Gate 2 after completing the Duel of 100, they will discover that the door leading there cannot be used, as if it has become part of the background. When Tattle is used on the door, Tiptron will say the door is sealed, which might be because the other Gates disappeared, and they are currently working on the water amusement park there. Oddly, when the player uses Tattle on the very same door while in 3-D, Tiptron will say the player can open it by pressing , the same as her Tattle of any door.

The Underwhere

It is also called World -1 by one of the residents, a reference to the famous "Minus World" glitch from the original Super Mario Bros. Ruled by Queen Jaydes, The Underwhere makes up one half of the "afterlife" dimensions, and is where people who have been neither good nor bad from "all worlds" go when they die. Once there, the people become ghost-like creatures known as Shaydes (a corruption of the word "Shades").

The Underwhere can be compared to the Asphodel Meadows of the ancient Greek underworld, hence its name, which is a humorous play on the words "underworld" and "underwear". Queen Jaydes herself was named for the Greek god of the underworld, Hades, and there are numerous other aspects of The Underwhere taken from Greek mythology (listed below). However, the Underwhere's counterpart, The Overthere, where the sinless can spend eternity as angelic Nimbis, is more heavily based on Heaven than the Greek Elysian Fields. Bonechill's prison, the place where people go when they have been very bad in life, is equivalent to Tartarus, also from Greek mythology, although the fact that he was a fallen Nimbi and his association with ice does bear resemblance to the story of Lucifer, who, according to Dante's Inferno, is trapped in ice in the deepest circle of Hell.

In The Underwhere and its counterpart, The Overthere, many characters or places that are encountered are references to other things, in most cases the names are specifically based off of Greek Mythology.

Shayde, a corruption of Shade

Jaydes, a corruption of Hades

The Underwhere itself, a corruption of The Underworld

The River Twygz (twigs), a corruption of the River Styx

D-Man

Charold, the man who runs the ferry across the River Twygz, is a corruption of Charon

Underchomp, a reference to Cerberus (both act as three-headed dogs who guard the gates to the underworld

The three hags reference the three Moirai, or the Fates, in Greek mythology.

The Underwhere and The Overthere are comparable to Flipside and Flopside

A "beveragarium" that serves milk beneath Flipside is named "The Underwhere"; another one in Flopside is named "The Overthere."

This is the only chapter where none of Count Bleck's minions are fought.

(A/N): As you can see, I am missing chapter 8, because I have already exceeded the limit of images, but I will take a separate part of it because I think its story is worth it. I hope you liked it!

[saucylobster]

The final fossil of my region and morelike Aerodactyl in that it doesn't evolve. Mixed the two types that I use most often for my fossils and a caveman seemed perfect for the combination. Cragnon are adaptable and intelligent pokemon that are well suited to colder climes. They generate a frozen club which they stud with stones to further its efficacy as a weapon and tool. Despite preferring to always have a club on hand, they have a devastating strength whether they use it or not. --Attack Info-- --Ability Info--